Sanyo's Eneloop Solar Charger has been on our radar for awhile, and we like watching what new devices they come up with. They're now planning on putting out a rechargeable lamp designed specifically to be a multi-tasker. Anytime a device is made to serve more than one function, our ears perk up. Plus, the interesting shape of this thing is enough to garner some attention. According to Tech On, the eneloop lamp was designed to transition from providing indoor ambiance to emergency lighting.

"The Kobe earthquake is the starting point," the company said. "We aimed at designing a shape that is really helpful in case of emergency."

So, they designed a light whose charge not only lasts awhile, but its shape is also made so that it is less likely to break if it falls over during a quake.

Equipped with two rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride eneloop batteries and LEDs, the light can be fully charged in 12 hours, and with the efficiency of the LEDs, the charged batteries means it can transition directly into a flashlight in an emergency. An additional perk is that because the eneloop batteries can be removed, the lamp can act as a battery charger for AA-sized batteries.

However, there is something to be desired in the efficiency rate for the charger. The power transmission efficiency between the charging stand and the lamp is about 60%. There's definite room for improvement there.

In white light mode, the lamp lasts for 3 hours on a charge for bright light, and 45 hours for a faded light. Additionally, it has a blue light mode that has two settings - healing or flicker, which determine how the light shuts on and off - and a full charge lasts 12 or 16 hours respectively. And for the emergency flashlight mode, a full charge can last 6 hours.